Method of and means for use in the manufacture of shoes



K. ENGEL Nov. 10, 1936.

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SHOES Filed June 18, 1934 M N211 HMLKQ QEQM Patented Nov. 10, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SHOES Application June 18, 1934, Serial No. 731,022

Claims.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of shoes and is herein illustrated in its application to methods of and means for use in manufacturing pre-welted shoes, that is shoes in 5 the manufacture of which the welt is attached to the upper before the upper is lasted.

It is usual in the manufacture of pre-welted shoes to provide a filler in the space enclosed by the adjacent edge faces of the lasted welt and upper. The filler may be attached temporarily to the last bottom before the welted upper is assembled thereon, the location of the filler on the last bottom being left to the judgment of the operator. The upper is then lasted over the margin of the last bottom and against the edge face of the filler. Thus it will be seen that uniform lasting requires the exercise of a high degree of care and skill in locating the filler accurately on the last bottom and in lasting the upper to the limit defined by the edge face of the filler.

Objects of the present invention are to enable the operator to last a pre-welted upper to a predetermined limit and, further, to enable the operator to last a pre-welted upper to a predetermined limit with the exercise of a minimum of care and skill. To this end, aspects of the invention are to be recognized in a method of manufacturing pre-welted shoes which comprises lasting the welted margin of a pre-welted upper over the margin of the last bottom to the limit of a marginal portion of the last bottom of predetermined width, which portion is hereinafter referred to as an overlasting area, and while the shoe remains in the lasting machine positioning a filler on the last bottom in the space enclosed by the adjacent edge faces of the welt and upper. For the convenience of the operator in lasting the welted margin of a pre-welted upper to the limit of the overlasting area, the boundary of said area at its inner extremity is indicated on the last bottom, for example, by a mark on the last bottom. In order to prevent the operator from lasting beyond the limit of the over-lasting area, a readily removable attachment may be provided on the last bottom, said attachment, as herein illustrated, having a peripheral wall which bounds the overlasting area at its inner extremity and provides an abutment which is engaged by the adjacent edge faces of the welt and upper at the end of the overlasting operation.

A feature of the invention consists of an attachment for lasts comprising a plate provided with means constructed and arranged to embrace a filler mounted on a last bottom and arranged to provide a lasting abutment. As herein illustrated, the attachment is provided with a peripheral flange arranged to be seated in a groove provided in a last bottom, which flange serves as a lasting abutment and also as a shield for preventing injury to or misplacement of the filler 5 during the lasting operation.

These and other aspects and features of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. l is a side elevation of an attachment embodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the attachment shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional elevation taken substantially on the line III-III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view looking at the bottom of a last provided with a groove for the reception of the attachment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the last shown in Fig. 4 with the attachment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 seated in the groove in the last bottom, a portion of the last and the attachment being sectioned to show the arrangement of a filler within the attachment; and

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the toe end of the last with a filler mounted thereon, the attachment seated in the groove in the last bottom, and a pre-welted upper lasted to the limit afforded by the attachment.

Referring to Fig. 4, numeral l0 indicates a last, the bottom. of which has indicated thereon an inner area or filler-receiving area l8 and a marginal area or overlasting area 20. As herein illustrated, said areas are indicated by a groove l4 formed in the last bottom and arranged to provide the boundary between the filler-receiving area and the overlasting area. The width of the overlasting area 20 measures the extent to which it is desired to last the welted margin of a pre-welted upper 2| over upon the margin of the last bottom (Fig. 6). The groove I4, as illustrated in Fig. 4, extends from the forward edge l6 of a heel plate I! forwardly of the last 45 around its toe end and back to the forward edge of the heel plate opposite the starting point.

In order to facilitate the lasting of pre-welted shoes on the last l0 and to obviate the requirement of the exercise of care and skill by the 5 operator in lasting shoes to the limit of the overlasting area 20, there is provided, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, an attachment 24 having the same outline as a filler 22 and provided with a flange 26 disposed at a right angle to the body portion 55 of the attachment. As shown in Fig. 5, the attachment 24 has substantially the same contour as the filler-receiving area I8 of the last bottom. The illustrated attachment is made of sheet metal, the thickness of which is only slightly less than the width of the groove I4 in the last bottom in order to permit the attachment conveniently to be seated in said groove. The width of the heel portion 28 of the flange 26 is reduced, as shown in Fig. 1, in order to permit said heel portion to engage the heel plate l2 while the remainder of said flange is seated in the groove [4, as illustrated in Fig. 5. In order to facilitate the removal of the attachment 24 from the last bottom after a pre-welted upper has been lasted against the flange 26, a handle or hook 29 is stamped out of the body portion of the attachment and shaped for convenient engagement by the fingers of the operator.

In lasting a pro-welted shoe in accordance with the present invention, various procedures may be followed. For example, one procedure which may be followed requires a filler 22 of suitable size and shape to be positioned on the filler-receiving area I8 of the last bottom and temporarily attached to the last bottom by tacks 3|, whereupon the attachment 24 is seated in the groove l4 and the welted margin of a pre-welted upper is lasted over upon the margin of the last bottom to the limit of the overlasting area 20, the flange 26 of the attachment 24 serving as an abutment for arresting the overlasting operation when the adjacent edge faces of the welt and upper have been worked over the last bottom and brought into alinement with the boundary of the overlasting area at its inner extremity. The attachment 24 is then removed and the shoe is completed in any known manner.

If desired, the lasting operation may be performed without the aid of the attachment 24, in which case the groove M in the last bottom obviously will not be required since a mark of any sort on the last bottom would serve to indicate the boundary between the filler-receiving area l8 and the overlasting area 20.

It is, of course, obvious that whether or not the attachment 24 is employed, the filler 22 may be mounted on the last bottom either before or after the lasting operation. If the filler is positioned upon the last bottom after the lasting operation has been completed, the tacks 3| may be dispensed with since the filler will be confined within the filler-receiving area by the adjacent edge faces of the welt and upper.

While the attachment 24 has been illustrated and described as a means for arresting the lasting operation when the welted margin of the upper has been lasted over upon the margin of the last bottom to the limit of the overlasting area 20, it is to be understood that the attachment is not limited to its illustrated use but may be employed generally in the manufacture of pre-welted shoes provided with fillers as a means for shielding the filler during the lasting operation in order to prevent injury thereto or distortion thereof. When the attachment 24 is intended merely to serve as a shield for the filler and is not to be seated within a groove provided in the last bottom it is, of course, desirable that the flange 26 be of uniform width throughout its entire extent.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That method of manufacturing pre-welted shoes provided with fillers, which comprises lasting the welted margin of a pre-welted upper over the margin of the last bottom to the limit of an overlasting area indicated thereon, and while the shoe remains in the lasting machine positioning a filler on the last bottom in the space enclosed by the adjacent edge faces of the welt and upper.

2. That method of manufacturing pre-welted shoes provided with fillers, which comprises attaching a filler to the last bottom in a filler-receiving area permanently indicated thereon, and thereafter lasting the welted margin of a prewelted upper over the margin of the last bottom to the limit of an overlasting area permanently indicated thereon.

3. That method of manufacturing pre-welted shoes provided with fillers which comprises attaching a filler to the last bottom in a filler-receiving area indicated thereon and thereafter lasting the welted margin of a pre-welted upper over the margin of the last bottom to the limit of an overlasting area indicated thereon, the inner extremity of which is bounded by an attachment positioned on the last bottom adjacent to the edge face of the filler.

4. That method of manufacturing pre-welted shoes provided with fillers which comprises attaching a filler to the last bottom, enclosing the filler in a shield constructed and arranged for engagement with the edge face of the filler, and thereafter lasting the welted margin of the upper over the margin of the last bottom to a limit determined by the engagement of the adjacent edge faces of the Welt and upper with said shield.

5. That method of manufacturing pro-welted shoes which comprises attaching a filler to a last bottom, superimposing on the last bottom over the filler a plate having the same outline as the filler and provided with a peripheral flange which affords an abutment to last against and prevents injury to or disarrangement of the filler during the lasting operation.

6. A last having on its bottom a plate provided with a peripheral flange arranged to bound an overlasting area at its inner extremity.

7. A last having on its bottom a plate having substantially the same contour as the portion of the last which it overlies, said plate being pro vided with a peripheral flange arranged to bound an overlasting area at its inner extremity.

8. A last, the bottom of which is provided with a groove which bounds an overlasting area at its inner extremity, and a plate having substantially the same peripheral contour as the inner portion of the last bottom bounded by said groove, said plate being provided with a peripheral flange arranged to be seated in said groove.

9. An attachment for lasts comprising a plate provided with means constructed and arranged to embrace a filler mounted on the last bottom and also to provide a lasting abutment.

10. An attachment for lasts comprising a plate provided with a peripheral flange constructed and arranged to be seated in a groove provided in a last bottom.

KARL ENGEL. 

